Almost a year after a federal lawsuit accused state officials of tolerating a crisis inside North Carolina’s child welfare system, problems persist. Wake County officials recently confirmed that children and teenagers have been sharing one shower and sleeping on air mattresses on multiple floors of a Wake County government building while waiting for evaluations and placements.

Read more HERE

We’re excited to announce that our Executive Director, Gaile Osborne, has been selected to receive the Collaborative Leadership Excellence Award at the 2025 Family Champion Awards, hosted by The Institute for Family on September 30 in Charlotte.

This honor celebrates leaders who bring people and sectors together to strengthen families and create lasting change. Gaile’s ability to build strong networks, foster collaboration, and keep family well-being at the center of every conversation is exactly why she’s a true champion.

We can’t wait to cheer her on as she’s recognized alongside other incredible advocates from across North Carolina

OPINION: North Carolina’s foster care system is in crisis. It doesn’t have to be

By Gaile Osborne

July 30, 2025

For the past 15 years, I’ve opened my home — and my heart — to more than 40 children in North Carolina’s foster care system.

I’ve welcomed toddlers still trembling from trauma. I’ve celebrated with teenagers as they crossed high school stages in caps and gowns. I’ve held the hands of birth mothers during supervised visits and stood silently behind protective glass in jails, watching families shattered by addiction and incarceration. I’ve waited in emergency rooms and ridden in the back of ambulances with children I love like my own.

After Stein signs anti-trans bill, LGBTQ+ advocates wonder what comes next

Gov. Josh Stein vetoed an anti-trans bill he called "mean-spirited" on July 3rd. But on that same day, he signed the Parents' Protection Act, which limits child abuse protections for transgender adoptees and foster youth. Now, some foster families and advocates worry about the law's impacts — and whether state Democrats can hold the line against other anti-trans legislation.

Many foster parents were caught off guard by the passage of the Parents’ Protection Act, including a woman in Asheville, North Carolina, who spoke to WHQR on the condition of anonymity to avoid harassment. Since 2020, she and her partner have opened their home to young people in need, with a special emphasis on queer and trans youth.

WATCH NOW: New law brings major changes to North Carolina’s foster care system

House Bill 612 is now law. 

It aims to improve how children in foster care are protected and supported across North Carolina. Signed into law today by Governor Josh Stein, the bill gives the state new authority to step in when county Department of Social Services (DSS) decisions put a child at risk.

Foster care overhaul advances in NC Senate

A bill that would overhaul North Carolina's troubled child welfare system is drawing praise from many stakeholders, but some adoption advocates say it could destabilize adoptive families.

Each June, National Reunification Month honors the families who persevere through adversity to reunite with their children, and the community partners who walk alongside them. This year, Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina (FFA-NC) is recognizing the resounding strength behind those reunions, spotlighting personal stories of healing, progress, and possibility.

Mountain Xpress 05.28.25

By the time Nikki Owen was 16, she had lived in more homes than she could count, pinging among relatives, group homes and shelters.

WebWire- As National Foster Care Month Begins, Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina Urges Action Amid Shortage, Celebrates 50 Years of Impact

May marks National Foster Care Month, a time to honor the resilience of the more than 390,000 children and youth in foster care across the United States — including nearly 11,000 in North Carolina — and to recognize the families, social workers, and advocates who work tirelessly to provide them with safe, loving homes.

A foster mother's journey: Schultz family helps Onslow County children

May is National Foster Care Month, and one Onslow County woman is doing her part, both at home and at work, for the many local children in the foster care system.

WRAL- Bill aimed at revamping NC foster care system moves closer to becoming law

House lawmakers unanimously approved a foster-care reform bill on Tuesday that seeks to give the state more oversight of county social services departments.

Responding to Hurricane Helene- A pan-University effort

The UNC-Chapel Hill community has mobilized to support those impacted by the storm.

In response to the devastation across western North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene, UNC-Chapel Hill has mobilized efforts to serve our state.

NC HEALTH NEWS by Grace Vitaglione
The legislation would increase state oversight of local social services departments and aims to find placements more quickly for youth with behavioral health needs.

Gaile Osborne is a foster parent to six children. She would’ve had seven if her first foster child had been allowed to stay with her, she said.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - North Carolina lawmakers are moving forward with an effort to reform the state’s foster care system, which critics have called “broken.”

House Bill 612, filed Monday with bipartisan support in the state house, would make a series of changes to oversight of foster care in North Carolina.

“If this bill passes, many children can exit foster care, and spend less time in foster care, and also less time spent in court, which is a good thing,” said Lisa Cauley, a division director for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

On Wednesday, FFA was proud to stand at the NC General Assembly as lawmakers introduced the Fostering Care in NC Act (HB 612) — a bipartisan bill aimed at fixing our state’s broken foster care system.

WRAL covered the announcement and the voices behind the movement, including our Executive Director, Gaile Osborne, who has fostered 40 children. Her words say it all: “This is the highlight of the last 15 years of my life.”

Published March 25, 2025

NC lawmakers propose new watchdog office to oversee foster care system

After a WRAL documentary exposed systemic failures in North Carolina's foster care system, state lawmakers have proposed legislation to establish a Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman office to provide independent oversight and advocate for children's best interests. 

Published Monday, March 24, 2025

Meet FFTA's 2025 Dr. Laura Boyd Champion for Children & Families Award Winner, Gaile Osborne. Join us in celebrating her accomplishments at our Public Policy Institute this May! 

Published Wednesday, March 19, 2025

By Freda Freeman, Correspondent
Mez Teague and his adoptive parents, Jerrie and Daniel Teague.

Daniel Mez Teague, 19, may have ended up on the streets if he hadn’t been adopted by his foster parents when he turned 18.

“Fifty percent become homeless after aging out. When you turn 18, you are essentially out on the street unless you have someone willing to keep you,” said Jerrie Teague, Mez’s adoptive mother.

The racial disparities in foster care are real—and they’re not talked about enough. In this latest episode of The Fearless Fostering Podcast, Gaile Osborne, FFA’s Executive Director, shares her eye-opening perspective on how the system disproportionately impacts children of color.

Gaile gets honest about the biases we all bring to the table, the tough conversations foster parents need to have, and what we can do to push for change.

This is an episode every foster parent—and every advocate—needs to hear.

Listen now: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fHjCHPfZNGiLhu03OJJvO

Watch WFMY News 2 Clip HERE!

Jerrie and Daniel Teague have been foster parents for 11 years. They are urging other families to become a foster parent.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — There is a need for more foster parents in North Carolina. 

In fact, Black and Brown youth are aging out of our state's foster care system with many of them having nowhere to go.